Photos from this show:

Video from this show:

October 30, 1969

Buffalo, NY US

Setlist:

Good Times Bad Times (intro) ~ Communication Breakdown, I Can't Quit You Baby, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, White Summer / Black Mountainside, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, How Many More Times.

Notes:

The Led Zeppelin group came off better in person in Kleinhans Music Hall than they do on their albums. They were in true simplistic terms… good, excellent professional, top-quality and nice to listen to!

Kleinhans Music Hall for years has been the setting of classical musical forms and musical forms that are built around quality and control. This year, a number of daring promoters have succeeded in breaking down the stodgy rules for performances and performers that the people in power have set up. Hence, this year we have been subject to many more rock concerts.

The thing that has become evident as a result of this is rock music carries with it its own atmosphere and its own cultural environment. And when two diametrically opposed cultures clash, something is bound to give.

And it did when Led Zeppelin came to town.

The form this group seems to be best in is the media of the live performance. They are extremely professional in their concerts. They have sound men controlling every aspect of their music.

Exact distinctions can be made between the guitar, drums, bass and the singing. The quality of sound at this concert was a pleasantry not too common in a time when the emphasis is being put on loudness and over amplification.

This isn’t saying that they weren’t loud – God knows they were. But the difference comes in their use of this loudness. It is a controlled sound that can penetrate as well as soothe.

As a unit, they are taskmasters. The intensity with which they look at each other while working is amazing. Their unit concentration is amazing. And their musical tightness is also amazing.

Jimmy Page, though somewhat berated by many snobbish rock ‘critics’, gave a fascinating technical display of guitar artistry that still sticks in my mind. His inventiveness and honesty was shown in a tune called “White Summer”. In this song, Page pulls up a chair and calmly tunes his old Silvertone guitar. He strives for a strange form of musical tonality in his guitar and proceeds to through his paces. The number combined an interesting musical texture which hinted of the Far East, the folk idiom and the country-western style. in a dazzling display of manual dexterity . Page made his music become his speech. He communicated what he felt at the time. Page was the featured performer that night. His brilliance on the guitar let the crowd to numerous ovations.

In another tune, Dazed and Confused, the audience is given the essence of the Zeppelin attack. Again, Page is featured in a guitar solo that hypnotized those watching.

After numerous minutes of skilled guitar work, Page went off into a scene, which showed his inventiveness. During the solo he proceeded to take the bow of a violin and stroke it across his Gibson guitar, producing a weird musical texture. Proceeding still further, he set to work with the guitar and violin bow complemented by a wah-wah pedal.

Solos abounded in this tour de force. John Bonham, in a piece called Moby Dick, displayed his unusual skill on a somewhat extended drum solo. Robert Plant soloed all evening using his screaming vocal chords to create another musical form. This he combined with Page’s guitar and they became one. Using what is the oldest of musical tritisms. Page and Plant exchanged sounds between vocal chords and guitar. Yet, again this had its own beauty about it.

As you have gathered by now, I was quite impressed with Led Zeppelin. And despite the critics, I think that in the proper media the Zeppelin is one of the most exciting groups around. (Buffalo News, Oct. '69)

Memorabilia:

Submit your personal review of a particular show you attended, updates, corrections, etc., which will be considered for addition to the official online archive.

You may also contact the webmaster at: webmaster@ledzeppelin.com

Comments

Submit your personal review of a particular show you attended, updates, corrections, etc., which will be considered for addition to the official online archive.You may also contact the webmaster at: webmaster@ledzeppelin.com

I attended with my Lancaster NY garageband mates: Dave, Buddy, and Jim that cool October night. We had reserved seats but we got there early were offered (to the first 500 through the door) a free album by the unknown warm-up band.We were cool...there to see ZEP....so we passed it up. The warm up band turned out to be The James Gang with a very young Joe Walsh opening with a blistering version of Walk Away. They were incredible. Walsh did an extended solo with a tape looping echo device. As good as they were only a small group of girls gave them a standing ovation.......we were cool......there to see ZEP...though Dave did buy an album from someone for $5.00......a hugh amount given the concert was only $5.50.

The reason I'm sharing this is that I think ZEP knew The James Gang played well also and came out ready to play their butts off. Some idiot threw a glass (from the Kleinhans' Bar) that shattered at Robert Plant's feet. The band didn't pause as a person appeared to pick up the shards and give the audience "behave" looks.

Given the acoustics of Kleinhans, the night was magical. The James Gang used only a stock SHURE VOCAL MASTER as their only PA. It had just 6 10" speakers in each of the 2 stacks. The sound was perfect.

Led Zeppelin had more equipment but nothing like what is used today.
ZEP played a number of encores......the house turned on all the lights....they played at least 2 MORE encores.....someone from Kleinhans came out and KICKED IN THE TUBES in the back of the amplifiers.......I swear. Still no one would leave.

Finally, a younger hipper person walked to the middle of the now mikeless stage and mouthed;"Go Home......Go Home......"

The crowd eventually left and this was the LAST rock concert held at this venue.